Guest Speakers

Guest speakers visit Boneh each week in order to expand on the weekly theme through lectures, presentations and workshops. Guest speakers vary greatly, but are generally specialists or activists in their respective fields. In the past, guest speakers have included representatives from Eastern Sun (An Organization for Mizrachi Culture), the Kibbutz Holiday Center, Muki Tzur (former Mazkir of the United Kibbutz Movement and author), Gershom Gorenberg (author), Breaking the Silence, Neil Harris (expert in Arab-Jewish relations), Anat Hoffman (founder, Women of the Wall), the Mazkir of Bnei Akiva, Daniel Luria (head of Ateret Cohanim) and The Council to Prevent Genocide.

This week, the Shiur (Modules) theme is Anti-Semitism and the guest speaker was Professor Yisrael Neeman from Haifa University.

Chanichim in shiur.

Going through a museum of pictures, quotes, and anti-semitic incidents in 

European history, 1200-1800. 

Siyur Thursdays: Diaspora Museum, Shuk HaCarmel, and Graffiti Tour

Most Thursdays, the Workshoppers leave Ein Dor to travel to a different part of the country. The siyur (tour) theme is designed to enhance the educational themes of the week, as well as giving the Workshoppers a chance to get out and explore the country.

This week, the Workshoppers traveled to Tel Aviv. They spent the morning at the Diaspora Museum at Tel Aviv University, learning about the history of the Jewish peoples all over the world from the Roman expulsion in 72 AD until the creation of the state of Israel. The museum explores how the Jewish people survived for two thousand years in the Diaspora, and what maintained them as a people while being spread all over the world. They had lunch at the open-air market at Shuk Hacarmel, in the center of Tel Aviv, before heading to the Florentine neighborhood. A former working class neighborhood in South Tel Aviv, today it is home to many young people and has become an artistic center. The Workshoppers went on a graffiti tour, learning about different symbols and political messages behind Israeli graffiti.

At the Diaspora Museum, in front of the recreation of Arch of Titus, showing the expulsion of the Jews.

Galil!

Our guide explaining the significance of different pieces.

Ronnie, inspired by the graffiti.

Workshop 64, with their new British counterparts from HD United Kingdom. The

Brits will be living with them on Ein Dor, and sharing some aspects of Boneh. 

Shiurim: Core Content

Shiurim (courses) are the core historical content of Boneh. Twice weekly sessions cover the broad scope of Jewish and Zionist history, with an emphasis on understanding the dilemmas the Jewish people have faced throughout history. Shiurim start with an examination of the Jewish communities in America and Canada, in order to connect the content to the chanichim's life experience, before moving back in history to learn about the ancient kingdom of Israel prior to the Roman expulsion. Shiurim involve a variety of experiential activities, reading, and discussion. Chanichim are expected to be active participants in their learning process, asking questions, sharing opinions, and discussing together how what they are learning shapes their understanding of the world today.

Shiurim have a weekly theme that is also connected to other events during the week, like siyurim (tours) and guest speakers. The theme for this week is "My Jewish Community." Examining the North American Jewish community today shapes some of the core questions for Shiurim: how did the Jewish community come to look the way it does today? What choices were people faced with? What different answers did they give? How does this effect my choice to be Jewish? 

Below is an excerpt from this week's reading.

April Rosenblum, "Offers We Couldn't Refuse: When Secular Judaism was Normal," discussing changes in secular Jewish identity in the post WWII period.

In the early 1900s, Kaplan observed the massive flight from religious observance and knew that
atheists, even if they wanted to, could not force themselves to believe in God. He responded by
teaching his followers that in Jewish tradition, Jews need not believe in God in order to practice religious Judaism. Kaplan advised synagogue leaders “to make the synagogue more attractive by adding to the house of worship and the [religion-oriented] school a variety of non-religious activities that might serve the entire surrounding Jewish community.” For the synagogue to become desirable for the entire Jewish community – that is, including all the non-religious Jews – the synagogue must make itself more relevant by expanding into the secular sphere. Indeed, some leaders thought such a center might be the nucleus for a new type of Jewish community. Its focus would not be religion but something we may call “Jewishness,” which would be the common element in a variety of activities – religious, political, cultural, intellectual, philanthropic, all of them legitimately Jewish.
In my view, the new centers, and the great number of synagogues who came to be influenced
by the advice to integrate secular activities, became the grounds of a sort of unstated consensus among Jews in the new communities. Religious institutions would let the vast number of non-religious Jews come for what they really wanted: secular social activities among their ethnic peers. In return, those Jews would come to a few given religious observances per year out of a sense of loyalty to one’s “roots” and out of a sense that this was what one did as a member of the community – as well as for the enjoyment of seeing everyone one hadn’t seen throughout the year.
The Jewish center indeed became central as the Jewish communities of the new neighborhoods
developed. But, housed at synagogues, and located in communities where Jews were most easily
understood by non-Jews as a separate religious group, the centers soon lost the connotation of a place where secular Jewishness would be equally as legitimate as any other Jewish identity.

Rabbi Abrahaham Joshua Heschel, "Existence and Celebration, excerpt from Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity."

There are two words I should like to strike from our vocabulary: “surveys” and “survival.” Our
community is in spiritual distress, and some of our organizations are often too concerned with digits. Our disease is loss of character and commitment, and the cure of our plight cannot be derived from charts and diagrams. When surveys become an obsession, a sacred cow that eats up vast energies, they may yield confirmation of little more than what we know in advance. It is in such a spirit that undertaking surveys is an evasion of creative action, a splendid illusion. Preoccupation with the notion of survival is the result of utilitarian philosophy according to which Judaism is a means to an end, a device or contrivance to preserve the Jewish people. The significance of Judaism does not lie in its being conducive to the mere survival of a particular people but rather in its being a source of spiritual wealth, a source of meaning relevant to all peoples. 

Hike up Har Tavor

Today,  the Workshop chanichim hiked from Kibbutz Ein Dor, up Har Tavor (Mount Tabor) and back to the Kibbutz, a 10 kilometer round trip. It was a great chance to get to know the area they will be living in for the next three months, and do some kvutza bonding.

Phia, Tali and Eli.

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A little Israeli geography lesson on the way up.

Resting, but still enjoying it (with a little complaining mixed in). 

Made it back to Kibbutz!

Boneh: The Weekly Schedule

This week, the Workshoppers start Boneh. Boneh is a three month long educational leadership development seminar. By emphasizing group learning and processing, Boneh encourages the kvutza to understand the past in order to take a stance on the future. Although a core component of Boneh is classroom based learning, the environment is informal and flexible to suit the desires of the chanichim. Discussion and participation are central to the Boneh experience. Boneh lays the intellectual and ideological foundation of Workshop, and future leadership in the movement at home by encouraging the chanichim to ask the big questions: Who am I as a Jew in the world? How is Jewish history relevant to me today? What is my relationship to Israel? What is a youth movement? Where did Habonim Dror come from and what is its mission in modern society? What kind of leader do I want to be? What future do I envision for the Jewish people? Luckily, they have a whole year to explore these questions!

Boneh consists of several different courses, guest lectures, a kibbutz work experience, Yom Kvutza, weekly siyurim (outings) and ulpan (Hebrew classes), as well as different responsibilities for the kvutza. Check back as we explore each of these sections in the upcoming weeks. Below, pictures of the chanichim on Boneh Orientation, learning about what to expect each week by competing to reveal the schedule.

Unsure of what will Boneh is...

 Starting to get an idea, thanks to Nora.

Cliel gets a shot. 

Mia helps reveal Wednesday's schedule.

Shabbat Shalom!

First Workshop 64 photo including everyone!

Today the Workshoppers celebrated their first Shabbat in Israel! The last few days have been an opportunity to start to get to know each other, and begin to understand what their year in Israel will look like. Today, they also had a chance to learn about Operation Protective Edge and discuss how it is effecting their perceptions and feelings about being in Israel. The conversation was a good start, and something they will be continuing to discuss on Boneh.

The temperature was also 34 degrees Celsius, so we went to a water park on the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). Check out some pictures from the last few days below.

Relaxing at the water park. 

Learning acrobalance with Idany.

Listening to the Shabbat story, an excerpt from The Little Prince about tradition.

Ilani blessing the wine.

Adina, Mimi, Tali and Patty blessing the challah. 

They Have Arrived!

All of the group flight has arrived safely. After they met their madrichim there they left on a bus for Kibbutz Ravid where they will stay through Sunday. Here they will have orientation seminar. 

On the bus! 

Northwest Group Arrives!

The group from the northwest has arrived in Israel! 

All Through Security In New York!

After everyone was accounted for here at JFK the staff and I sent the group through security at 10:15 PM EST. Their flight is on time and still scheduled to depart at 11:30 pm. 

Travel Day 9/2/14

Shalom everyone. Here in New York we are busy preparing for the beginning of Workshop and the travel day. Please check the blog regularly today and tomorrow for updates on everyone's arrivals in both New York this evening and tonight and tomorrow afternoon in Israel.

If you have any questions through out the travel today please text or call the HDNA Emergency Cell: 917-822-2330